Thursday, September 29, 2011

John Barth and My Favorite Late Night Snack

What on earth could John Barth, author of "Giles Goat-Boy," "The Sot-Weed Factor," and "Chimera" (National Book Award winner) have to do with my favorite late night snack?

Well - bear with me and I'll tell you.

When I met John Barth back in the early or mid-sixties what he was most famous for in Cambridge, Maryland was being the son of Judge John J. "Whitey" Barth, owner of Whitey's Candy Land. This was before a good deal of his work became required reading on college campuses throughout the country.

The work most of Cambridge was most interested in was John Barth's first book, "The Floating Opera," (a National Book Award nominee). That's the book that was always selling out at Whitey's. Although fiction, it still seemed a bit "familiar" to local residents who continue to swear they can spot certain individuals in the cast of characters in this novel based on a small coastal town in Maryland.

Cambridge honored one of hermost famous sons on June 14, 2010. Sadly, I was not there for this grand occasion, I would have loved it. Not that I would ever expect him to remember me - the 60s was, after all - a long, long time ago. Along with the fact that he was beginning to become quite famous when we met, and I was a skinny little 16 year old bookworm in awe of meeting a real author.

John Barth concluded his day of honor by noting that “Cambridge, the rivershore, and the great down county salt marshes were my life’s coordinates from birth through high school through college and my first efforts as a writer of fiction, and they remain as touchstones of my imagination.”

What does any of this have to do with me?

I was working in Whitey's Candy Land while I was in high school, along with one of my very best girlfriends (then and now), Pam Howell Mills. (Oh, the stories).

It was my first ever job, and I loved it, and I loved Whitey. It was a fun place to work, and working with Pam was just the icing on the cake. The cherry on top was that it was where some of our high school friends would come to hang out after classes while we were working, so it was really more fun than work.

And it was here at Whitey's Candy Land, of course, that I met John Barth. My first author meeting ever. Who knew what that was going to lead to??!

Whitey's, in addition to being an old fashioned candy store, was also a luncheonette with a soda fountain. Because Whitey didn't like the smell of grease, there were only cold plate lunches; tuna salad or chicken salad sandwiches, served with Miss Georgia's (Whitey's wife) homemade soup, which she would make at home and bring in every day. When Pam and I worked on Saturdays, our workday included lunch. Pam loves to remind me that my lunch was always (always!) tuna salad on toast and a coke. Followed by dessert. Ice cream with chocolate syrup and a bag of potato chips. A lot of people don't really "get" that combination . . . .

3 comments:

"The Sot-Weed Factor" and "Giles-Goat Boy" were my summer beach reads at the Jersey Shore during the summer of 1967. I was 17 years old and in my serious phase of reading.

I'm right with you in the salty-sweet line. I love nuts in everything and have been known (as in yesterday) to toss crushed potato chips on top of my sorbet or ice cream. Salty-sweet is the best combination, ever.

The '60s don't seem all that long ago to me, Kaye! I loved those John Barth novels, and I even taught them a time or two during my career. I'm pretty sure I'd be too intimidated by the length of a couple of them to pick them up now, but I still have them on the shelves.

Harley's New book

Click on photo to purchase at amazon.com (paperback or Kindle version)

I'm a lover of words and a lover of images.

The photos you see in the blog posts were mostly shot by me or by husband Donald. Or, they're old family photos - a lovely little benefit of being a part of families who recognized the beauty of preserving our history through photography.

If the photos are not ours, I have tried whenever possible to caption or link the photos to their source. This hasn't always been possible as there are a lot of uncredited images available through the internet.

The photos in the sidebar were not all shot by me or Donald.

Those that we did not shoot are images I'm sharing from Facebook, Tumblr, Google and/or other places.

My sincere thanks to the generosity of so many talented photographers who so graciously share their work for so many of us to enjoy, share and learn from.

IF you see a photo here that is a copyright infringement, please send me an email (barleykw @ appstate dot com) and I'll remove it immediately.

"Oh, Kaye!" A monthly feature at Jungle Red

Look for me at Jungle Red the first Sunday of each month. Just click this picture and you will magically arrive in the land of Jungle Red Writers. Eight smart and sassy crime fiction writers dish on writing and life. It's The View. With bodies. - And now, me. As resident commentator, reader, visionary, mystery maven, arbiter, pundit and prognosticator. Kind of like Andy Rooney, 'cept I'm still living

Books Read During 2015

Every year I promise myself I'm going to keep a log of books I'm reading. And I immediately forget. Then I remember again, but only after I've already read a few books, but can't be sure I'll remember them all and so - - can't bring myself to start the list. It's sort of like missing the first 30 minutes of a movie. I just can't watch it if I've missed the beginning. And being the anal ol' soul I am, I can't bring myself to start a list if I can't be sure it's going to be a complete one.So.I decided to keep a list during 2010 and found it to be a fun thing. Especially for a compulsive list-maker like myself.

PLAY ON: NOW, THEN, AND FLEETWOOD MAC: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY by Mick Fleetwood and Anthony Bozza

BEFORE I WAKE by Anne Frasier

HUGO AND ROSE by Bridgette Foley ( ARC)

SOMEONE IS WATCHING by Joy Fielding (ARC)

PERMANENT SPRING SHOWERS by Scott D. Southard (ARC)

TRIGGER WARNING by Neil Gaiman

NIGHTBIRD by Alice Hoffman (ARC)

THE IDEA OF LOVE by Patti Callahan Henry (ARC)

PLEASANT DAY by Vera Jane Cook (ARC)

PARIS, HE SAID by Christine Sneed (ARC)

THE GHOSTS OF PEPPERNELL MANOR by Amy M. Reade (ARC)

HUSH HUSH by Laura Lippman

MURDER IN HINDSIGHT by Anne Cleeland (ARC)

MURDER IN RETRIBUTION by Anne Cleeland

MURDER IN THRALL by Anne Cleeland

THE ART OF BAKING BLIND by Sarah Vaughn (ARC)

LITTLE BLACK LIES by Sandra Block (ARC)

BLUEPRINTS by Barbara Delinsky (ARC)

THE GUEST COTTAGE by Nancy Thayer (ARC)

LAVINA by Mary Marcus (ARC)

IN WILDERNESS: A NOVEL by Diane Thomas (ARC)

WHAT HAPPENS IN TUSCANY by T.A. Williams (ARC)

IT STARTED AT SUNSET COTTAGE by Bella Osborne (ARC)

THE WOMAN IN THE MOVIE STAR DRESS by Praveen Asthana

THE DWELLING PLACE by Elizabeth Musser

THE BODY AT WRAPP'S MILL: A Grist Mill Mystery with Marcy Dehanne by Celia H. Miles

WOMEN IN CLOTHES by Sheila Heti and Heidi Julavits

THE CATALAIN BOOK OF SECRETS by Jessica Lourey

WINTER AT THE DOOR by Sarah Graves

WEST OF SUNSET by Stewart O'Nan

THE MAGNIFICENT SPINSTER by May Sarton

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN by Paula Hawkins

A FRENCH PIROUETTE by Jennifer Bohnet

SEASON OF THE DRAGONFLIES by Sarah Creech

LAND OF ENCHANTMENT by Liza Wieland (ARC)

WALKING ON TRAMPOLINES by Frances Whiting (ARC)

FTC Disclosure Notice

FTC has a new regulation which went into effect in December, 2009 which says, basically - "Amateur Bloggers to Disclose Freebies or Be Fined." Significantly fined. So. Since I happen to be an amateur blogger who sometimes receives free books, here's my required FTC Disclosure Notice: Dear FTC - Regarding review copies of books obtained for this blog. No other compensation is accepted beyond review copies of books - ever. When I do write a review, or opinion, the source of the book cited will be disclosed in the post in which the review/opinon appears. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me.